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CD reviews: Gallows, Lupe Fiasco, The Bled, The Knew, YellowFever

By Paul Maldonado
Friday, January 18, 2008

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Gallows, "Orchestra of Wolves" (Epitaph Records)

This five-piece from Watford, UK, specializes in old-school punk rock, with great, breakneck, twin-guitar riffage throughout. The music's melodic, discordant and anthemic, though the songs tend to be a little too long. These guys should have stuck to short and sharp.

The opener, "Kill the Rhythm," takes its title literally, while "Abandon Ship" is pummeling yet melodic; in fact, that could be said of most, if not all, of the tunes (the title track really rocks).

There's a nihilistic undertone imbued with the British swagger of the disenfranchised. Themes include violence ("I Promise This Won't Hurt"), date rape ("Just Because You Sleep Next to Me Doesn't Mean You're Safe") and the effects of parental divorce ("Stay Cold").

The lyrics of "Come Friendly Bombs," about how dead-end ennui leads to fisticuffs, sums up the lot: "Black knuckles and broken teeth/Grey days and grey streets. The same faces, the same release/If this town had a name it'd be defeat."

In the band's bio, it says the main "goal was to wrestle punk back from the fashion police and reinvest it with passion, brutality and menace." Mission accomplished.

Gallows headlines an all-ages show tonight at the Launchpad, 618 Central Ave. This Is Hell, Cancer Bats and Culprit open. 8 p.m. $12 at the door or at Launchpad, 764-8887.

Lupe Fiasco, "Lupe Fiasco's The Cool" (1st & 15th/Atlantic Records)

On his sophomore release, the Chicago MC makes a biting social commentary about life in the urban USA, post-millennium. He has said it's a loosely structured concept album about damaging influences and the allure of corruption.

Musically, this is soul-infused hip-hop with R&B roots. Lyrically, it's the antithesis of gangsta rap ("The Coolest" calls out all poseurs"); its social consciousness lifts it to another level (the soulfully poignant "Hip-Hop Save My Life").

"Hi-Definition" features Snoop Dogg doing his signature slow-rhyming style in the chorus; "Gold Watch" is a hilarious view of bling-bling meshing with the realities of life in the ghetto; and the first single, "Superstar," features a smooth chorus that function as the hook courtesy of Matthew Santos.

Highlights include "Little Weapon," which was produced by Fall Out Boy's Patrick Stump, about a vet who's a ticking time bomb and lost back home as the result of his time in Iraq, and "Hello/Goodbye (Uncool)," where Fiasco's backed by musicians including the electronic wizards in U.N.K.L.E., as well as guitarist Josh Homme of Queens of the Stone Age; this is the intersection of hip-hop, pop, electronica and rock.

The best tune is the catchy-as-hell "Go Go Gadget Flow," where his superfast rhymes give props to Chi-Town: "I'm from the best city in the whole wide world"; it's orchestral, electronic and hypnotic.

The title is no lie: This is so cool and fluid, it's impossible to resist.

Lupe Fiasco brings his rhymes to the Sunshine Theater, 120 Central Ave. S.W., on Saturday for an all-ages show. Doors at 8/show at 8:30 p.m. $25, plus service charges, at Ticketmaster outlets and at the door. Call 883-7800 or go to Ticketmaster. Smoking and alcohol service in segregated areas.

The Bled, "Silent Treatment" (Vagrant Records)

For its third album, this Tucson quintet has, for the most part, dropped the pop elements of the past and gone for a more diverse, heavy-duty, post-punk sound. The musicianship is top-flight, while the vocals are on the screamo side.

"Shadetree Mechanics" sets the mood: "Next time there will be no next time." The song titles are clever and punny — "You Should Be Ashamed of Myself"; "Platonic Sleepover Massacre"; "Breathing Room Barricades" — which should also clue you in to the lyrical content.

"Some Just Vanish" offers a warning of sorts, while "My Bitter Half" takes no subtleties. "Asleep on the Front Lines" at first seems out of place — prog-ish, hushed and mellow — until the chorus kicks in. It, like the rest of the CD, is urgent and unrelenting.

The Bled is on the bill for an all-ages show at the Sunshine on Tuesday. Saosin headlines, with Armor for Sleep and openers Meriwether. Doors at 7/show at 7:30 p.m. $15.

The Knew, "Holladay" (Self-released)

This Denver quartet — out on the road promoting its third EP, a five-song affair — is adept at Southern rock 'n' blues. In fact, Kings of Leon seems like the biggest influence on this 3-year-old band.

The rollicking "It's on Fire" kicks things off, while slide guitar and harmonica add rockabilly flair to "Piece of Mind," and "Call My Name" sounds like an old blues rocker.

"Salvazar" is gospel blues made more solemn by the slide guitar. The disc ends with the rousing country punk of "He's a Thief."

The Knew play a free show at Burt's Tiki Lounge, 313 Gold Ave. S.W., at 10 p.m. Saturday. Q's Revenge and the Old Main share the stage. 21 and over. 247-2878.

YellowFever, "Cats and Rats" (Hugpatch Records)

On this five-song EP, the Austin trio goes minimalist for the most part, crafting lo-fi indie pop.

On these slice-of-life vignettes, the female-fronted group can sound like the Breeders (the title track) or Sonic Youth without the distortion or noise (the achingly melancholy "Alice" and "Hellfire").

Elsewhere, it's like girl groups from the past: on the love song "Metarie," the Hammond farfisa organ gives it an '80s New Wave sound, while "Donald" (this is either a tribute to or dis of or both of Trump) bridges '80s New Wave with '90s indie rock.

YellowFever play a free show at Burt's Tiki Lounge at 10 p.m. Tuesday. Mei Long and the Cherry tempo are also on the bill.